Friends of Islington Museum

Category: Blog Post

  • Pantos, Pageants and Puddings: Islington’s Christmas Past

    We’re all witnessing a different kind of Christmas in 2020. One without the usual carol services, Christmas fairs, pantomime outings and no spending ‘real time’ with family and friends. As a diversion, we thought we’d take a brief look at some of the Christmas ‘goings-on’ of Islington past. Read on…

  • Hitler’s Guy Fawkes Day Surprise: The Archway V2 Rocket Attack 1944

    Where three residential roads in Archway, Islington, north London, meet is the site of a tragic loss of civilian life during the Second World War (1939-45).  A plaque commemorating the event can be seen at Giesbach Road Open Space, Giesbach Road, Islington N19 3EH.  The aftermath of the V2 Rocket…

  • Blitzed Islington: Islington and the London Blitz (1940-41)

    The 80th anniversary of the start of the London Blitz (7 September 1940 – 10/11 May 1941), during the Second World War, is being remembered nationally from Monday 7 September 2020. On ‘Black Saturday’ 7 September 1940, at around 4pm, and lasting for two hours, nearly 1000 German bombers and…

  • Islington and the Last Night of The Blitz (10/11 May 1941)

    On 11 May 1941, after eight months and five days of constant threat and terror, the nationwide Blitz came to an end. Up to this point, approximately 41,000 tons of bombs had been dropped in total, with 18,291 tons falling on London alone. Around 41,000 people had been killed, 21,500…

  • The Blitz Period in Islington (1940-41)

    THE “BLITZ” PERIOD – SEPTEMBER TO JULY 1941 By W. Eric Adams (Islington Town Clerk and ARP Controller) The 80th anniversary of the start of the London Blitz (7 September 1940 – 10/11 May 1941), during the Second World War, is being remembered nationally from Monday 7 September 2020. This…

  • How Islington Greeted VJ Day 1945

    The 75th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan), marking the end of the Second World War, is being commemorated nationally on Saturday 15 August 2020. Millions of people across the world celebrated the Allied victory over Japan in August and September 1945, including Londoners and the residents of Islington…

  • Yao Blog 3

    This is the last day I work in Islington Museum and I spent a fantastic morning with Julie Melrose, the archivist of Islington Local History Centre who gave me a mesmerising introduction to the centre and briefly the history of London borough of Islington and Finsbury. Then I got some…

  • Yao Blog 2

    The first thing I started in Islington Museum was to check the objects’ locations in the small store. In order to handle collections appropriately, Roz introduced me all the must-dos in different cases and circumstances. I finished roughly six shelves full of objects, registering their numbers, names and descriptions as…

  • Yao Blog 1

    My name is Yao and I am studying Digital Humanities in UCL. In 2016 I earned my bachelor of art degree in Advertising from Sichuan University in China. During the term time, I was the vice president of the youth media department of Sichuan University, in responsibility of operating media…

  • Stephanie Blog 3

    Things I have learnt working in the Islington Heritage Museum: One of the first things I learnt and enjoyed about working here was to get to know the Museum. Roz kindly gave me a tour of the museum where I found a lot of interesting information. How to write a…